This is one simple way to make a transition meaningful and fun. Make a bucket list. Take the time by yourself to make a list of serious or fun or unique things you can do before you move. My list had a mix of things I wanted to do, places I wanted to visit, and moments I wanted to have with my family. Hang something up in the garden. Go to Ulriksdal with the kids. Make cardamom buns.
Writing down my desires is one of the most freeing and satisfying experiences of my day-to-day life. It releases me from feelings of shame that I even have desires, it sets me free to work toward something and it lets me know what is important to me. That last one may sound silly to those of you who are heavily sensory, but for us intuitive types, we don’t always realize what is on the inside. Putting it on paper makes it more real, and it gives me a list I can give to Husband and say, This is what’s important to me right now. Inevitably it also shaped the way I spent my time in the weeks before our move.
One thing we did with our move from Sweden was to sit down with our four-year-old and ask him if there was anything he wanted to do before we left. He had a list of six things, and we wrote it down nice and big on a white sheet of paper, and it was on our fridge until the last day. It was a wonderful insight into his heart and mind. There were places he wanted to visit that were special to him like the Vasa Museum and Lek o Bus (an indoor play centre), but there were also very simple things like play in our garden, go to the water, go to Aunty Wilma’s house. These are insights into his heart that I need, it reminds me now after we’ve left Sweden, these are the things he probably misses the most, these are the places where his heart is likely to be hurting.
We worked our way through the list one at a time, he crossed it off every time we finished something. He loved it. His bucket list was a way to give his opinions and feelings a priority during our move, it acknowledged to him that he is important, and in the process we made several wonderful family memories. The last item on the list we crossed off a day or two before we drove away from Sweden, and something about finishing his list said to all of us, It’s time to go now.
Now it’s your turn: What do you want to do before you move? Even if you aren’t in the middle of a move, what things would you like to do before the year ends? How would you like to spend your October or November?